iCubeSat

Author(s)

Ryo Ishimaru (1), Masanori Kobayashi (2) and Takafumi Matsui (3)

1. Institute of Technology, Japan
2. National Central University (IANCU), Taiwan
3. Hokkaido University

Session

P.1 – Poster Session

Keywords

Meteor, CubeSat, 3U, Asteroid, Comet

Abstract

Meteors are phenomena induced by atmospheric entry of meteoroids from asteroids and comets; accordingly, the meteors give us the information in primordial objects, such as their size, orbit, population and, possibly, origin. In particular, the observation of large meteors (fireballs) leads to the understanding of Near Earth Objects (NEO) because NEO is a major source of large meteors on Earth. Although meteors have been observed mainly from the ground so far, the ground-based observations have weak points: narrow observational range and weather dependent. These make it difficult to observe large meteors because large meteors occur less frequently. In contrast to the ground observations, a space-based observation by an earth-orbiting satellite enables a continuous global observation of meteors. Thus, we are planning to develop and launch a new CubeSat to observe large meteors from space, and aims to constrain the NEO population. Our satellite is a 3U CubeSat whose instrument is optical cameras. Launch date is planned on the early 2014.

Poster

Paper

• Optional paper not submitted